By Your Side
by SlayingDead
Summary: "I'm right here little brother, and I aint goen no where and neither are you." Daryl gets seriously injured and Merle goes into 'Big brother mode' set in mid season 3. No pairings. Rated T for blood and Dixon language. OneShot


**So this is an idea that came to me in math class and I couldn't get it out of my head so I just rolled with it. Merle is (was) my favorite character in the Walking Dead and I love the protective big brother side of him and this story is just showing that off so he might be a little ooc. I have no medical knowledge so the medical details are from Google so if I mess medical stuff up please forgive me. I hope you enjoy!**

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Merle ran as fast as he could to towards the prison. He held Daryl around his middle and had the half conscious man had his arm around Merles shoulder. Walkers were trailing behind them smelling the blood dripping from their bodies.

"Open the fucking gate!" Merle yelled as he approached the gates of the prison. Carol, who was on watch, went up to the gate unlocking it and letting the brothers in and shutting the walkers out.

"What happened?!" She frantically asked seeing Daryl almost limp against his brother and Merle bleeding from several places.

"Just get Hershel and Rick." The older Dixon demanded, this worried Carol, Merle never said their real names it was always 'Doc, Officer friendly or old man.' Carol raced inside and the brothers fallowed slowly. By the time they got to the prison Carol had already gotten Rick who was waiting at the entrance. The former cop went to the other side of Daryl helping him into a cell and onto a bed. Hershel came in on his crutches and sat down next to the bed.

"What happened?" He asked. Merle seemed to be in a daze simply looking down at his brother. Rick knew that look, it was the same look he had on his face when Carl was shot "Merle I need to know what happened." Hershel said in a more calming voice. Merle snapped out of it and answered.

"We…We were out hunten' ran into a heard, bout' twenty five of em. Had us backed up to a cliff, Daryl fell I tried to grab him but ended up falling to. I just landed better I guess." Merle was know for being calm and collective and sometimes pissed off but never panicked and unsure of what to say now there was panic in his voice and blue eyes.

"Maggie get the med kit, Beth water and towels" Hershel ordered his daughters who went to do as told. The one legged vet took out his knife and cut off Daryl's bloody shirt ignoring the scars that marked the younger mans skin and felt his pulse. "He needs blood, Merle do you know what type he is?" The redneck thought for a moment.

"B…B negative." He answered. Hershel turned to the group.

"Does anyone have B negative blood?" He was met with blank faces.

"I have O- blood take mine." Merle insisted sticking out his arm.

"I can't do that son, you're lousing blood too." Hershel tried to reason. Daryl coughed and turned his head to the side letting blood come out from his mouth.

"I don't care do it now!" Merle ordered. Beth and Maggie came in with supplies.

"Maggie he has a bad gash on his right leg, stitch that up, he can't lose any more blood. Beth help me get the boys hooked up for a transfusion." During his time at the prison Hershel had been working on making make-shift medical supplies with items the group had scavenged, including a device the group could use to give blood transfusions. Hershel stuck the needle in Merle's arm and blood stated to flow through the plastic tube and into the needle in Daryl's arm. Daryl stirred coming to a bit.

"Daryl, son can you hear me?" Hershel asked in a calming tone. Daryl only looked around trying to piece together what was going on. "You need to tell me what hurts." The one legged man pressed on.

"Ch-Chest" Daryl answered struggling to breathe, his blue eyes fallowed up the tube attached to his arm to meet his brothers eyes. "M-Merle?" The older Dixon knelt down next to the cot by his brother's head.

"I'm right here little brother, and I aint goen no where and neither are you." He said in an almost angry tone.

"He punctured his left lung, probably from a broken rib." Hershel explained to the group.

"What are our options?" Rick questioned.

"The only way to fix it is with surgery, I need to go in and reset the bone and drain any blood in his lung." The vet said with a grim look on his face. The group all looked at each other knowing that this was life or death. Maggie who had finished stitching Daryl's leg hugged Glenn.

"Do it." The group looked to the owner of the voice to see it was Merle. "What are you all staren' at? Do what you gotta do." Merle knew what this meant, no anesthetic, and no pain medication but if they didn't do it his baby brother would die.

"I'm going to need a serial knife and lots of towels." Carol who had been standing aside went out of the cell to get these things.

"Rick, Glenn you are going to have to hold him down. Merle do you think you can keep him awake and calm for me?" Merle only nodded feeling dizzy, maybe from the situation or from his own blood loss. Addition to giving Daryl his blood Merle had a nasty cut that went from the shoulder of his left arm to his elbow, his shirt was being soaked with the blood that came from cuts on his back from falling on rocks. Carol came in and handed the things to Hershel noticing Merle went deathly pale at the sight of the knife.

"Carol I'm going to need you too incase I need extra hands." Hershel turned to his daughters and Carl. "You need to give us some space." The three left the cell and everyone took their positions. Glenn held Daryl's legs and Rick his shoulders, Merle stayed in the same spot kneeling by his brother's head.

"All those years I tried to make a man of you now's the time to show it." Merle said in almost a joking tone.

"Okay here we go." The vet said obviously nervous. He lowered the knife and there was a sickening sound of cutting flesh. Daryl began to buck under Rick and Glenn's hands. "Keep him steady now" Hershel ordered continuing the incision. Blood pored down his side which Carol attempted to clean up. Daryl began to louse consciousness and Merle tapped his cheek making the younger brother open his eyes.

"You gotta stay awake baby brother, I aint letten you sleep." Daryl nodded and cried out when Hershel began to go inside his chest.

"M-Merle make em' stop." The hunter all but begged not understanding what was going on, delusional from the blood loss and the pain.

"I aint gonna let no one hurt ya' Daryl." Merle said running his calloused hands through his brother's hair.

"Alright I see the puncture, Carol pass me the tube." The short haired woman handed him the plastic tube. "Sorry son." Hershel said as he put the tube into Daryl's side and lung. The younger man cried out trying to move away but Rick and Glenn has him pinned.

"Calm down there little brother, you're almost done." Merle soothed pushing back Daryl's hair. Carol looked at the pair with a smile on her face, it was strange to see this side of Merle, and it was like he was a completely different person. Carol knew at that point that it was safe to have the older Dixon at the prison. Merle had to look away when the blood from Daryl's lung went through the tube and into a bucket. Daryl began to drift again and Merle decided to use a different tactic to keep his brother awake.

"So Darylina tell me what hurts more, this or when Pa gave ya a good beaten." Merle teased smirking. Rick and Glenn looked at each other; Merle just confirmed their suspicion of the Dixon brother's childhood abuse.

"Fuck you." Daryl rasped out through his labored breaths.

"Almost done Daryl, just have to pull the tube out and reset the bone." Rick smiled at the vet's words and patted Daryl on the shoulder.

"You're doing great Daryl." Rick only got a grunt in response. Hershel pulled the tube out and Daryl couldn't help but cry out in pain.

"Come on little brother stop being a pussy and man up." Daryl shot a glare at his brother which wasn't too treating in his condition. There was the sound of bones cracking as Hershel reset Daryl's rib. The hunter bit his lip so hard that he drew blood; he didn't even realize he passed out for a moment until Rick was shaking his shoulder.

"Daryl, you have to stay awake for just a bit longer, Hershel's stitching you up now." Daryl looked down and saw his incision was half way sewn.

"You did good son, you can sleep once I'm done with this and check your vitals." The one legged man said obviously relived the worse was over. The room was silent except for Daryl's strained breaths as Hershel finished the stitches and bandaged his side with the gauze Glenn and Maggie got from a run two weeks ago. Hershel felt the younger mans pulse and frowned.

"You're pulse is a little too slow but I don't want to take any more blood from you Merle." The older Dixon shrugged his shoulders obviously exhausted.

"I'm fine." He stubbornly told Hershel who didn't listen taking the needle out of both brothers' arms, he looked to Daryl.

"You can sleep now." The hunter didn't need to be told twice immediately shutting his eyes and within seconds his breathing was even. Hershel dunked his hands in the bucket of water on the ground cleaning the blood off. Glenn stood and left the cell with Carol silently to see the others while Rick stood off to the side. Hershel moved to Merle who seemed to be staring into space.

"Alright your turn now, what do you have that needs looken' at?" The old man asked.

"Can patch myself up." Merle mumbled not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Tell me how you're going to tend to that gash on your left arm with your missing right hand." Merle glared at Hershel but the older man stood his ground. "Come on son, we don't need you collapsing on us too." Merle reluctantly stuck out his left arm giving Hershel the green light to do his work. Hershel sat on the bed careful not to disturb Daryl and took out his needle and thread and began stitching the redneck up. They were silent for a few minutes and when Rick left the cell to check on Judith and Carl the older Dixon spoke.

"He's gonna be okay right?" Hershel stopped his work to look up at him.

"Honestly there's no way of me knowing that, He survived the surgery which is something I didn't expect to happen, it's just a waiting game now." Merle nodded and looked at his brother. "I know you feel responsible, I'd feel the same way if it was one of my girls but you both were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." The redneck didn't respond do Hershel just finished up the stitches and wrapped his arm. "The back of your shirt is soaked with blood, ill take a look at your back." Merle froze and shook his head.

"There only shallow cuts." Hershel frowned.

"I know what your trying to hide, I've seen Daryl's when he got that arrow in his side, kind of assumed that you had a matching set. There's nothing to be ashamed of." The older man tried to reason talking about his scars.

"I aint ashamed of nothing, just don't want ya inspecten' me." Merle deafened.

"Those cuts could get infected; it's just us in here now." Hershel looked to Daryl. "Well us and your unconscious brother." Merle quickly took off his bloody shirt and turned so his back was facing Hershel.

"Just make it quick." The amputee wasn't surprised by all the harsh scars on the rednecks back, he just went about his work wetting a cloth and cleaning the drying blood of his skin. Merle didn't even flinch at the stinging sensation on his back.

"I'm just going to stitch up two or three cuts." Hershel did just that silently, and taped gauze to Merle's back. The former vet did a couple more procedures to find that Merle had a concussion and two fractured ribs. "You should rest, you gave Daryl a lot of blood and you lost some yourself. I'll send in Rick or Carol to sit with him." Hershel tried to reason but Merle just shook his head putting on his old bloody shirt. "Okay." He grabbed his crutches. "Ill have someone bring food up for you later." The old man crutched out of the cell and the Dixon brothers where left alone. Merle stared at the scars that marked his brother's chest and frowned.

"I let em' hurt you before and I let em' hurt you now." Merle said so quietly that he almost couldn't hear himself. All those months he was at Woodberry he could never stop thinking about his baby brother and when Andrea said there was a chance he was still alive it lit a fire under Merle, and he'd stop at nothing to find Daryl. "Well I found ya." The one handed man said with a small laugh. Merle didn't want to fall asleep but his body demanded it, his eyes felt like they weighed a hundred pounds and sleep soon took him over.

The rest of the group sat in the "kitchen" of the prison as Maggie set plates of noodles in front of them all. They saw Hershel come down the stairs and Glenn went over to help the on legged man come to the group.

"How are they?" Beth asked breaking the ice as her father sat down at one of the tables.

"The surgery was a success but without any medicine he's still gravely injured. He lost a lot of blood and I can't take any more from Merle. He needs to rest and let his body correct itself. And I'm afraid Merle is doing more harm to his body then good by refusing to rest, it was a struggle to get him to let me patch him up." Hershel explained eating the food his daughter placed in front of him. Carol stood up with a bowl of noodles.

"I'll go bring him some food." The group just nodded and let her go up the stairs. Before what happened today Carol wouldn't be caught dead in a room alone with Merle Dixon but after today's display she was happy to help. She walked into the room and smiled at the sight. Merle was sleeping keeling facing the bed Daryl was sleeping on, his face in his folded arms which were on the bed. Carol decided it was best not to wake either of them and set the bowl on the ground and left the cell smiling.

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**I hope you enjoyed it and I would really appreciate it if you took the time to tell me what you thought! This is a one-shot but if enough people want me to continue with it I might add on one or two more chapters. Thanks for reading and until next time!**

**~Tabsters**


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